Southeast Asia's largest phone company Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said on Wednesday that the talks between its Indian associate Bharti Airtel and South African mobile firm MTN were at a 'very early stage', according to a Reuters report from Singapore.
The report quoted SingTel chief executive officer (CEO) Chua Sock Koong as saying that the talks were "at an extremely preliminary, exploratory stage".
The company's CEO for international operations, Lim Chuan Poh, was quoted as saying that it was too early to determine if Bharti would make a bid for MTN or whether SingTel would provide financing for the deal. The executives were talking at the company's annual results event in Singapore.
SingTel, which holds a 15.58 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel, had earlier said that the company was eyeing a potential acquisition in South African